A tribute to the brave men, and women, who fought for freedom. This tobacco features U.S. Virginia grades and Virginia tobaccos from Mysore with additional fermentation under pressure. It is press aged, sliced thin and kept in flake form. Easily rubbed out. This blend has an excellent cool burn with a satisfyingly rich, but smooth flavor Medium Strength.

As some of you obviously know by now, I am an extreme Patriot. I bleed red, white and blue because only bleeding only red would make me a commie. I only drive "American-made" cars like Chevy and Ford; everyone who says that they import their parts from countries with cheap labor must be a lying commie. I mean, why would the huge corporations choose to do something like that when they could hire American workers, forgoing personal gain and wealth for the greater-good of the community...

That aside, I'm sure glad to show off my patriotism as much as possible, which is why I smoke Patriot flake. It's made by the good ol' American company Dan tobacco. I keep on hearing people say that Dan tobacco is German, but that can't be right. The name Dan is as American as you can get, it's not called Volkswagen tobacco, it's good ol American DAN! Jeez people, get your facts straight. Plus, the tin art is covered with American pride. Just look at the poor laborer, now solider, being sent out to die for the gains of the rich and wealthy arguing whether a black man should be considered a 3/5 of a person or not a person at all...it must be American. Duh!

Anyway, that's why I smoke it. It taste like nasty German horse manure, but hey, it's American dammit. Land of freedom...

Side note- This stuff is actually pretty damn good. I've cellared many tins in hopes that it ages well. If not, then I'll just throw it away. That's how we do up in the USA.

I can certainly understand how some people feel that there are oriental condiment tobaccos in this one. It truly does not smell in the tin like a straight virginia. I have no experience that I know of with virginia tobaccos from Mysore, but I would guess they are the "culprit" here, as there is no flavor of actual oriental that I can detect. Orientals in virginia blends with no latakia are becoming more common but are still fairly rare. This one smells like one of those, but as I said, if there are actual oriental tobaccos in this one, I couldn't pick them out by taste.

This is an interesting blend, with a nice spicy flavor and a hint of sweetness. More grassy hay character than overt sweetness and a bit of sourdough taste... kind of the difference between an English Muffin and regular bread. The stoving gives it a toasted character. I didn't have any trouble rubbing out the flakes and they are decidedly easier to break up than the McClellands Epitome that is also hanging around my tobacco bar. This one was best smoked somewhat dry but not crispy. Nicotine hit seemed normal - not too strong.

Overall, a good tasting blend but not one for my cellar. A definite must try for those that like a fair bit of complexity rather than something monodimensional. But at this point, the straight virginia genre is pretty well represented in my cellar, and this didn't do enough differently to merit inclusion. But it's definitely worth a try!

This broken flake is very spicy and very sweet. If it were a little less pricy, I might purchase Patriot Flake more often. CAO is importing a lot of new blends - from what I understand, and this one may or may not remain in their lineup. Dan Tobacco is the blender and they did a very nice job with this one.

If you are a fan of truly spicy and sweet Oriental/Virginia offerings, and prefer some power to boot.... then this is a highly recommended treat.

A very neglected straight Virginia flake. There are not that many as good as this and it surprises me this hasnt gotten straight four stars. There is also something in this, in both the tin note and the smoke that somehow reminds me of virginia flakes I smoked way back, in the 70s. And even the 60s. Im not sure what it is, but a certain quality of aroma and taste. Dan tobacco uses different virginias than K&K or the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Thats neither good nor bad, but in this case I think its good. Its a lighter flake, with a very very very mild top dressing. Sweet but in no way obstrusive. In fact its less cased than any of the K&K flakes like Wessex or Astely;s. It is smooth and delicious. It is only virginia so expect just that. I rate it as top notch and very underrated.3 and half stars.

Sweet hay and a touch of citrus. A little tang and spice. No evolution from top of the bowl to the bottom which makes it a bit boring. Nice cool burn. There are much better smokes out there in this genre. 2 stars.

Medium in body and taste. Might be a slight sweetness added. Burns well straight from the tin.

I don't know where all the talk about Oriental tobaccos in this blend came from. This is a pure Virginia flake: "Virginia tobaccos from Mysore" means precisely that: Virginia tobacco grown in India. There are no "Balkan/Turkish/Oriental" condimentals here. Only Virginias.

It's an excellent middle-of-the-range choice: not too tiresomely stoved, not lemony, not too sweet, not too smokey, nor does it have that oily saltiness of some twists. It might be thought a little bit bland, but it has a moderate spiciness and makes its presence felt, without tiring the palate. While there are other more intriguing, more entertaining Virginia flakes, this is a good fall-back choice: when I am not sure what blend to take up, I go for this. Its friendly, solid, cleanly robust smokability never disappoints. Nor is there any perfumy topping of the "lakeland" frou-frou type.

This is my early-afternoon smoke of choice, in a medium-sized briar. It never overheats and, once you get it going, it's a notably relaxing offering.

Slightly nonplussing. A few references to Orientals and Smokingpipes.com lists Orientals as a component. Maybe the Mysore Virginias have caused the contention?

The blend presents itself as a single stack of wide flakes. They don't have much thickness to them so are easily rubbed. There's not much in the way of a tin-note, just slightly sweet, rich, Virginias. It takes to the flame easily.

This is simply a wonderful smoke. There's some hay, bread, and a sweet, sugary, note. I don't get much of a Virginia-citrus flavour, there's a subtle touch, but not enough for it to quantify it as a notable flavour; it's not as sharp and piquant a Virginia as can be sourced. Regarding the Oriental debate, to me it's a steadfast straight Virginia. It burns slowly, giving a cool, bite-free, smoke.

This is a very interesting flake that differs from other virginia flake blends.once you crack the tin you get grassy,spicy and a sweet smell.the flakes are smooth,very easy to handle.i personally rubbed the flake and packed it at once.no extra relights needed for me.while smoking the flavours are rich and deep including grass,sweet notes,spices and dark fruits.burns medium and slow.the nicotine levelis medium.the room note is pleasant.generally this blend has some uniqueness.for me it is an all day blend.totally recommended.

I recenlty bought 2 tins of this flake and I was very curious to try it after reading the reviews. The art work on the tin is very nice. Upon opening the tin I was delighted with the smell of the flakes. Raisins and a very subtle vanilla on the back.

The flakes, molstly of dark colors and regular size, look nice and yummy. Very easy to break and to rub it out. It's easy to light and to keep it lit and burns evenly throughout the bowl.

The smoke comes very harsh at first, it tends to settle down a bit after few minutes. In my opinion, it burns too hot, which increases the spicy feeling. It doesn't bite.

It is very different from other Virginia flakes I'm used to, such as SG Full Virginia and Capstan. I prefer more sweetness in my Va's and less spiciness, so I don't think I will be buying more tins of this baccy.

It's a quality tobacco and an odd one too. I recomend this because it offers a different side of Va's and because it's very tasty, to a certain point. And I don't give it 4 stars because, even tough I have enjoyed the experience, I still prefer the more "classical" approaches of Va's flakes.

This was a 12 year old tin. Ages well, but not a huge difference from when new. Very pleasant, if subtle, medium brown/grassy flavor and the Indian VAs make a nice change of pace. Has a very slight tinge of olive and spice. Very nice flakes with perfect moisture that have excellent burning qualities.

For me, this is a very middle-of-the-road, straight forward VA, rather hay-like. I prefer my VAs on the darker side, but this is a servicable smoke. Fans of this style of flake or those who want to try a basic (in the good way) VA could do far worse than this, as the different VAs give this some complexity and keep it interesting. I'm glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn't rebuy it unless my tastes change strongly in this direction. Of course, this didn't have any age on it and so might improve with aging.

Ready to smoke right out of the tin, no drying time necessary. Smokes equally well rubbed out or folded, but I find folded and stuffed gives a bit more flavor in the smoke. Definitely better smoked in a large bowl briar to extract the full potential of this blend. Very very slight tongue bite if puffed with extreme prejudice.

Sweetness seems to increase as the smoke progresses (maybe a very faint topping?) but never cloying. Just a real sweet hay Virginia taste with a spicy background that lingers throughout the smoke. Neither complex nor boring, a perfect all day smoke, with medium nicotine content. I often find myself smoking two bowls of this in a row.

The room note is pretty non-offensive, and this one smokes dry, down to a fine white ash with no dottle, no relights, no fuss... A relaxing smoke to be certain, better than SG FVF in my opinion due to the added spicy background of this blend. Very high quality tobacco, and must try for any Virginia lover. This one seems that it would age very well, if I could just keep my paws off of it long enough! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED indeed!

Originally marketed via the CAO brand in North America, but always made by Dan Tobacco and sold as part of their "American History" line in Europe, this is a sweet, pure VA flake with no additives besides a gentle top flavour.

The tin note is citrus -- a note of orange, maybe some grapefruit. The slices are brittle (no humectants added, typical for DTM) and fold-and-sink rather well into tall bowls; the leaf is very bright. Rubbed out or folded, this blend lights up nicely and burns rather coolly for a pure VA, giving off a sweet and spicy taste (Hay? Yes... but very, very sweet hay!) and a sweet-spicy room note with just a touch of acidity.

If there is anything to criticise, then it is that, like most pure VAs, the smoke is pretty one-dimensional. But I like sweetness in my pipe, so no points withheld on that count. Good medium VA flake; VA smokers should try it IMO.

I accompany with a full-bodied Spanish Tempranillo or a cup of Earl Grey.

First off, I will agree. Yes...this tobacco is a bit pricey. I paid $12 for a 50g tin(with a great picture on it). but as with most thing, you get what you pay for. and what you get here, is a great tobacco. I wasnt blown away with the aroma upon opening my tin. but the "broken Flake" looked rather interesting. I lightly rubbed out 3/4 of a bowl's worth, and topped it off with the looser crumbs. lighting is very easy, and produced huge amounts of smoke on initial char. The first half of the bowl struck me as a run-of-the-mill Va blend with nothing major to contribute to western civilization. Yet the dramatic shift about half way through the bowl is where my 12 dollars suddenly became a wise investment...this is where the Orientals make their grand entrance. the Va's are also tuned up a few notches and the Nicotine becomes more appearant as well. the room note is fine, as long as you dont mind Va's. I did have fun with the ultra thick and creamy smoke. and if your into smoke rings, then this is the tobacco for you. this continued to smoke effortlessly with no need to re-light down to the bottom where one will find a nice salt/pepper ash. If you lean towards English blends, this might be a good transition blend, and if you like Va's, then you should really enjoy this. again...I say 12 clams is a small price to pay for this great tobacco.

I have been slowly working through this tin for a while now. I have mixed feelings about this one and can't really decide how I feel about it. While I find it to be an excellent smoke, I just don't find myself engaged by it nor do I find myself reaching for it often.

The scent from the tin is absolutely fabulous. The sweetness of the matured virginia could keep me smelling the tin for hours, it's just a delightful aroma. The flakes rub out easily and pack even easier into any size pipe. The smoking characteristics of this blend are very good. It smokes cool, even, and clean all the way down to a fluffy grey/white ash.

The flavor of this is exactly how the tin describes it, sweet and spicy. The sweetness is prevalent in the first third of the bowl, then spiciness takes over and dominates for the rest of the smoke.

While this is a quality flake, very refined and elegant, I just find it a tad on the boring side. There is nothing here that really holds my interest. I also find the spiciness a little more than I would prefer in a straight virginia not containing any perique and find it to tickle my tongue and throat a bit. Personally I prefer the bright, livliness of little brother Veermaster over the Patriot. Quality smoke that deserves to be sampled, however when my tin is gone I won't be running to the store for more.

Until now the only virginia flake that I'd tried was Dunhill Light Flake. My last virginia experience was an unfortunate forray into the land of MacBaren Virginia No. 1, and especially compared to that junk, this stuff is quite nice. My impression is that Patriot flake is a bit spicier than the Dunhill, though a bit more mild overall. The taste is pure and clean, and the moisture content seems about right. I don't detect any flavoring at all, though perhaps my taste isn't as sharp as that of others. There might be a bit of rum in this or something, but perhaps I'm just tasting the sweetness of the tobacco itself. Whatever it is, if there at all, it blends in well with the natural flavors. Perhaps it's because the Dunhill is stronger and not quite as spicy, but I think I still like Dunhill Light Flake more than this. I'm looking forward to finishing off this tin though.

After a little more experience with this blend I can confirm what another reviewer noted: this stuff does indeed become fuller and richer toward the end. This inspired me to give it a try in a pipe with a tall narrow bowl like this Skaal freehand that I have (about 2" deep). In this pipe the effect was magnified quite nicely and the bottom 1/3rd of the bowl was exceptionally rich and flavorful, though toward the very end the sweetness really starts to overpower the spiceiness. Anyway, I recommend giving this a try in such a pipe.

I think the 'middle of the road-ness' of this fine Virginia flake is its strength. Neither too sharp nor overly stoved, it hits a nice sweet spot.

The tin I smoked contained large, wide flakes that were slightly stuck together probably due to its age, several years. Ready to smoke from the get-go, no drying necessary. I detected a subtle plum flavoring added that dissipated when the flakes were dried (I live in a desert climate, and some drying out is always inevitable) which is quite a pleasant alternative to the maples and vinegars of many others. Also a taste of honey at times.

But all that is pretty subtle, the flake is all about well-balanced natural Virginia flavor. Plus the spice, which I love. Not a by-the-numbers Virginia flavor, it is a little different, but personally I didn't detect anything resembling Orientals. The second half of the bowl is nice and buttery, not so buttery as some, but very good, that and the spiciness come together very well.

I think this may become one of my go-to Virginia flakes, I enjoyed it a lot.

Virginias from Mysore? What are these? Magical Virginias? Maybe they don't contain any Orientals, but from what I can make, the spice is prevalent, and very well received.

It's been three years since I reviewed a tobacco. I had a pile of tins that I threw in a box, and had neglected for some while. I admit to having slipped, and smoked a better half of several months on cigarettes. When I began to smoke again, I pulled that box, and this was one of the blends that I chose for a reintroduction.

My sample was dry, inadequately hydrated and preserved, yet I pulled it for the promise of a viable Virginia.

Patriot Flake is tasty, and fine enough for satisfaction. The blend, spicy as it is, offers a characteristic profile of Virginia leaf. Not quite sweet, but beefy enough to reward a reliable smoke. Is it imbued with notes of hay and grass or stewed fruit? I don't know, but I will smoke this concoction and revel in the spice.

Not being the biggest fan of straight Virginia tobaccos i decided to give this one a try. It has a good tin note, burns good, and tastes a little spicy but not too much. It is like a straight virginia with a little twist in flavor. Not too bad, just not my cup of tea. I could see how a virginia lover would like this a lot so if thats your thing its worth a try.

This flake is not discontinued and does contain a measure of oriental leaf, although who knows what variety it is. Just for the record, most VA blends contain oriental leaf to add complexity to the VA component.

This is a sweet and spicy blend with some power. It needs some age, so recommend laying it down. If you enjoy VA flakes I recommend this.

Got a tin on Ebay; there were no other bids and I just thought I'd try it, since it's discontinued and the tin is a nice one for my collection. I've been smoking this all day, and am enjoying it. A very nice natural Virginia flake. I detect no Orientals. I can see why it might not have sold enough to have survived as a blend: OGS is a similar style, and is half the price this was offered at. PS Luxury Navy Flake is also similar, and when bought in the 24 oz. box, is a fraction of the cost. There are some good points to this tobacco. First, the awesome tin. Second, an unusually good tin smell: you really want to stick your entire head in! Third, it's neat to try Indian-grown Virginia, even though to me it just tastes like most other Virginia. Fourth, they are not lying when they say this is cool burning. I am sometimes prone to overheating pipes with this style of Virginia flake, but cannot get this to overheat no matter how hard I try, and believe me, I am trying, if for no other reason than to test the claim. It is also true that this flake offers a pleasant spiciness, which may be responsible for the mistaken belief that it is an Oriental blend, that and the fact that "Mysore" sounds Oriental. This tobacco is also bite-free, at least for me. I would consider picking up another tin on Ebay, but would not pay too much. This is a good blend, but one can get similar flakes for considerably better value.

A little too moist straight upon opening. After a little drying, it lit and smoked quite nicely. You get some spice at the top of the bowl. The virginias shine through the rest of the way with a very good balance of spice. Tasty stuff. I find it a nice morning smoke.

It's a shame this blend is no longer produced. PF is a nice virginia with just the right amount oriental spice. If you are a virginia lover, this is definitely worth a try. You will not be disappointed.

I'll be scouring my local tobacconists and online sources to find a few more tins.

My basical tendency is to review a tobacco not before the end of the second tin? I have let half of this second one seasoning for months. Humidity has quite left, the remaining flakes are not dried so overly, let?s say they are still like a ?ruvid tweed?. PF is basically a deep brown (stoved?) Va flake, and yes a small quantity of oriental may be of the party. It?s round, has body and character; medium in strength and stays there until the end (with some momentarily reinforcements); modestly sweet, creamy and faintly spicy; smoke is substantial and satisfying; quite no bite and over-hot bowl. I find it?s right place is the second pipeful in the morning. Three stars and steady place in my cabinet. BTW: I would try Hamborger Veermaster just to build the CAO/Dan?s scale of flakes: HV being the ?treble?, PF the ?midrange? and Skipper the ?bass? ? unfortunately HV is not imported in Italy.

I have to say that I was not really impressed with this flake, however after reading other reviews, I'll give it some time. What I did find was that by blending this with some of G&H's Brown Rope #4, you get a really nice smoke, the Rope brings a world of fullness to the Patriot.

This is a good flake, but I think a little bit overrated. It is high quality stuff, but nothing really outstanding in terms of experience. I find it somewhat harsh at times, and only in few occasions has given me something really high in terms of smoking pleasure. Maybe I should have let it age a little, instead of smoking it right away.

The tin is very nice. It inspired me a short descriptive poem, which is written in spanish. I´ll try later to translate it, and post it here.

I bought this tobacco on an impulse basically because I was looking to try something new and I liked the tin, although it was a bit expensive. The first two bowls I smoked of it were nothing special and semmed like a basic virginia, but then about half way through the third bowl the orientals kicked in. It kind of took me by surprise at first but I liked it, and still do. This is an all around excellent tobacco worth the price.

The tobacconist at Drapers in Washington, D.C recommended Patriot Flake to me as ?the cleanest burning blend.? My first bowl of this was sitting in the park front of the White House, which is exactly as apt as the deep meaning behind the way things are packaged.

This is a great tobacco, very fine Virginia with a little oriental as spice. The more I smoke this, the more I like it. The finish is full Virginia ambrosia, and it doesn?t turn harsh even with heavy puffing, though earlier in the bowl it could be provoked to bite. The burn is indeed very clean. In an all-graphite bowl there is hardly any ash whatsoever. The complexity of the tobacco seems to have been brought out well by aging and pressing. I?ve smoked the flakes after rubbing out or just folded into the bowl with good results.

This tin of Patriot Flake was my first experience with a CAO pipe tobacco. It was recommended to me by Mr. John Bell of Bell?s House of Tobacco in Cincinnati, OH. Knowing CAO?s reputation for quality cigars, I decided to give it a try. Besides, I liked the name and the Revolutionary War figure on the label. Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a delicious aroma of golden raisins and molasses. The tobacco was in the form of a broken flake, with most pieces being a little over an inch long, accompanied by some smaller flecks and powder. It appeared to be of the highest quality. The moisture content was a little drier than some, but just about right. It packed easily into a relatively small Group 5 Dunhill Quaint and took a charring light easily. The first few draws rendered a smoke that was light, thin, and a little steamy. Further puffing, though, brought about a much thicker, fuller smoke with a milky mouth feel producing great grayish clouds and effortless smoke rings. As typical of Virginia blends, very gently smoking was necessary to keep the tongue burn to a minimum. The flavor was mild and never developed into the rich, brown sugary character of some other darker Virginias (Marlin Flake?yum) but rather gave me impression of cinnamon with a hint of white pepper. There were waves of sweetness and hints of grapefruit, but overall a little less flavorful than I expected. The tobacco burned well and required no relights and only a single application of a pipe cleaner (which is pretty typical of that particular Dunhill). The nicotine content seemed pretty mild but gradually built up to a slightly face-numbing haze. Afterward, I was left with a dry gray ash in my bowl and a hot feeling in my mouth that receded into a pleasantly sweet aftertaste. Another single pipe cleaner was all that was necessary to finish the deed. All in all, Patriot Flake is a tobacco that I will certainly finish, but might not purchase again. I prefer the fuller flavor of Marlin Flake or Escudo. I?ll have to see how I feel by the end of the tin. I am not opposed to trying any of the other CAO blends and would even recommend this one if you like less sweet Virginias.

An excellent flake! This is in a class by itself,much like Stonehaven. The best description of this blend would be the following: An excellent medium strength English blend with all the Latakia removed. Add to this the fact that this is a wonderful cool burning Virginia flake and VOILA! you have Patriot Flake. Proceed with caution! Very high nicotine content!

I thought I had already reviewed this wonderful flake! I should keep a file of the tobaccos as I review them. A very nice, high quality Virginia flake. Less bitey than most. One of the top five perhaps. Will update as I revisit this tobac.

I recommend this highly, especially if you store it for a year or so. It definitely gets sweeter and gentler with age.

For a pure Virginia flake, this is really great. A lot fo people complain about these Dan blends being too pricey. Buy them at smokingpipes.com (8 bucks per 50 gram tin as opposed to twelve most other places). I'm not affiliated with the company, but I patronize them more often than any other.

Patriot Flake is a most enjoyable smoke that is smooth, mild and flavorful. As advertised, it is both sweet and (subtlety) spicy. The flavor intensifies as you progress down the bowl. With the orientals, this is a very nice change from pure VA blends. It packs well, burns well and doesn?t ?nip.? There is no sharpness or harshness upon first light that is prevalent with some other VA blends. The only negative, as others have noted, is its price: this tobacco should be called ?PaY?triot Flake.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

this is a full-bodied virginia pressed flake tobacco with a pleasant sweet sorghum-like pouch aroma. it packs well, lights easily, and has a very even burn down to a fine gray ash at the bottom of the bowl. the flavor is full, and has a creamy taste that i like very much. the oriental tobaccos make a very pleasant mix with the virginia burley. this one would make a great all-day smoke. the only negative i can find with it is the price. at nearly $10 for a 50 gram tin, this is a very expensive smoke. i give it 3 stars, but i sure wish i could buy it in bulk to save money! maybe craig tarler can come up with a C&D blend that is similar.

Patriot Flake is pretty much what I would expect a Virginia/Oriental blend to be - as the promo says: "sweet and spicy". It is also high quality. Anyone who likes their Virginia blends to be "easy" would probably consider Patriot Flake "right on the edge". As noted by others, there is an interplay between the "sweet" of Virginias and the "spicy" of Orientals. For me, a person whose primary Virginia smoke is #5100 Red Cajke (straight red Va) - Patriot Flake is like adding the Italian Sausage to the pizza - a notch up in taste and tang but not so far that it becomes a chore to smoke or like. The room note IS something to watch out for, there will almost certainly be some aftertaste (though not bad) and, at full retail this is a very pricy blend. Fortunately, one of the major on-line tobacconists has recently had Patriot Flake available at about $8/per 50gr. instead of $12-$13. I smoke Va-predominant blends in limited quantities but would certainly recommend Patriot Flake to any Va. lover. It's very good.

Beautiful tobacco. Quality taste, smell and texture. Reminds me of Marlin Flake, which is a high recommendation. Comes in a 50g tin with that great picture on the top. Might be the fastest I ever smoked a complete tin even though I usually have five tobaccos opened in a rotation (three in bulk containers and two tins). The only drawback to smoking more of this fine leaf is the cost.

This one is awesome! I always have a tin of this stuff around. I love everything about this one. The only reason that I stated that I smoke this one on occassion is due to the fact that I rotate through a variety of VA blends because I tend to get tired of the same stuff after a while. This VA blend gives a nice sweet spice that is quite pleasant in the nose and on the tounge. I have a passion for the more natural tobaccos and this one certainly fits the bill. This stuff is pricey but, CAO/DAN really take care to present the smoker with a quality product. This blend is easily rubbed out and burns consistantly time and time again. If you like VA I bet you'll melt over this one the only problem is that the price may melt your wallet as well but, for flavor like this I'll stretch the budget a bit.

Appearance and tin Aroma: Looks like a typical bright yellow flake with light brown specs here and there. Smells like hay with a subtle hint of honey.

Packing and Lighting: I prefer to rub out my flakes, I seem to be able to control the burn rate a lot easier this way. This blend lit easily.

Initial Flavor: This starts out bright and grassy, but after a relight or two, settles down.

Mid-Bowl: Nice round mellow flavor, the spicy high notes settle down. Occasional bursts of sweetness pop in and out. This flake reminds me of MCClellands 221b Honeydew, but with much less honey.

Bottom of Bowl: A quick crescendo of flavor and then it is all over, ash is fine and grey.

Overall: This is a great medium strength flake that is fairly easy to smoke, but with all the other great flakes available is going to be a hard sell due to its higher price tag ($11.50 - $13.00 for a 50g tin). I can think of many other flakes that are almost half the price, that are just as tasty. For me, I am still a Ratray's Man (Marlin Flake, old Gowrie) primarily, with an occaisional foray to the Mc Clelland flakes. IMO those blenders still outdo this blend.

At first I didn't like this one because I had never tried a Virginia flake before. But as I continued trying to finish the tin, it grew on me. I like it best when smoked from my C.A.O. meershaum. I find this one now to be a nice hit of nicotine and a fantastic blend of subtle flavors. A bit pricey at $11.00 a tin. UPDATE: This is a pretty good flake but, not worth the price tag. I've tried many other virginia flakes now and found the cheaper ones to be just as good or better at half the price.

CAO again presents us with a nicely prepared flake of golden to medium brown VAs. The tin moisture content is higher than I prefer and resulted in a wet smoke especially towards the end of large bowled pipes. With some drying, I obtained a better smoke and still had easy packing, lighting and an even burn rate. I found the taste ~ to another German blend, Dan's Hamborger Veermaster, and sensed just good quality tobacco taste without any casing. However, with this blend, the orientals are evident but still remain in the background and do complement the overall taste. Unfortunately, I believe that they also influence the room aroma which did not receive good reviews on the homefront. I don't need another blend that is relegated to outdoor smoking by my family members. Overall, a relaxing and enjoyable smoke but not in my top 10 of VA flakes.

This is one I would place in the same category as Hamborger Veermeister and Honore.

The orientals soften the VA's without upstaging them. This blend may not have knocked my socks off but I don't feel cheated spending a little time with it. A reliable smoke. For VA smokers, reliability is a big bonus.